LG probably thought that it had a great way to challenge the Samsung Galaxy S7 this year. By making the LG G5 modular, the company was adding several features that the Galaxy S7 didn't have. But LG's modular system was more complex than the average Joe wanted to deal with, and comparisons with Motorola's Moto Mods revealed the simplicity of Motorola's system. As a result, the LG G5 failed to make much of a dent in the flagship market during 2016. Even the fact that it had a replaceable battery failed to take business away from Samsung.

Some might even argue that LG's true 2016 flagship phone was the LG V20. It was the first Android model to come out of the box with Android 7.0 pre-installed. Built to military grade specs in order withstand a drop, the LG V20 certainly has flagship written all over it. A Gorilla Glass 4 protected 5.7-inch display features a 1440 x 2560 resolution. The Snapdragon 820 SoC is under the hood, as the model features 4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of internal storage. A dual rear-camera setup (16MP plus 8MP) includes OIS, and there is a selfie snappin' 5MP front-facing camera. The phone has just been updated to Android 7.0.

So what does have LG have in mind for 2016? Expected to be introduced at MWC in Barcelona, which runs from February 27th to March 2nd, the LG G6 will be taking on the usual challengers like the Samsung Galaxy S8, and perhaps a new flagship from HTC. There is some talk that LG will give up on the modular design and focus on a premium handset with waterproof capabilities and a non-removable battery.

International bank Credit Suisse expects LG to sell at least 5 million LG G6 units next year. The device could add support for LG Pay and wireless charging. Mobile payment service LG Pay will use MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) along with NFC. That means that not only will the service work on POS systems that use the latest technology, it also will work with retailers that use older equipment that simply swipes credit cards at check out. Like Samsung Pay, this will open LG's mobile payment service to 90% of retailers world wide.